Joe Juliano

Inquirer Staff Writer

With the Big Ten going to a nine-game conference schedule beginning in 2016, Penn State will play five home Big Ten games that season and four at home in the 2017 slate, according to schedules announced on Thursday by the conference.

The schedules include the Nittany Lions’ games against Eastern Division rival Rutgers. The two teams will meet Nov. 19, 2016 at Rutgers, and Nov. 11, 2017 at Beaver Stadium.

In all, Penn State will play the other six schools in the Eastern Division (Rutgers, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State) and three from the Western Division. The Lions will have five conference home games in even-numbered years, and four during odd-numbered years.

In 2016, the Nittany Lions will host Minnesota, Maryland, Ohio State, Iowa and Michigan State, and have non-conference games at Beaver Stadium against Temple and Kent State. On the road, they will face Michigan, Purdue, Indiana and Rutgers in the Big Ten, and will renew their series with archrival Pittsburgh at Heinz Field.

The Panthers come into Beaver Stadium in 2017 when Penn State also hosts Big Ten opponents Indiana, Michigan, Rutgers and Nebraska. The Nittany Lions travel for Big Ten games at Northwestern, Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan State and Maryland.